


A World Turned Upside Down

by AgentMaryMargaretSkitz



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Christmas Isn't Canon, Maybe Garcy coming?, Rittenhouse (Timeless), Sort Of, The Framework Universe (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:46:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26931610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentMaryMargaretSkitz/pseuds/AgentMaryMargaretSkitz
Summary: Time travel wasn't the only thing that Conner managed to achieve, and it's not the only piece of tech Rittenhouse has gotten their hands on. When the organization takes the Time Team sans Lucy and puts them into a virtual reality, they find themselves in new lives intertwined with Rittenhouse and no memory of their previous battles. A prison they can't even see they're in.Until Lucy finds her way into the system.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14





	A World Turned Upside Down

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing. Absolutely nothing.
> 
> The idea came from just seeing a gif of Goran on the Boys and hearing spoilers about Claudia's character. From there it really grew and suddenly the idea of the Time Team being in the Framework from Agents of SHIELD popped into my head. So I sat down one night after work and just wrote and wrote and got this. Posted it on Tumblr, but was asked to crosspost to AO3. 
> 
> Thank you to the Garcy fandom for helping me nourish this idea and letting me babble. I appreciate you lot.
> 
> Also, totally counting this as a sort of horror fic for Spooky Month

“How is security for tonight’s event?” Benjamin Cahill asked.

Denise Christopher glanced toward the exits, where agents were already stationed. “All prepared and on alert. We have uniforms and undercover operatives as you requested. They’ve been vetted thoroughly.”

“Excellent,” Cahill smiled. “You’ve been an excellent asset to us. I’m pleased that someone at the department is willing to extend my party the same treatment as the other two.”

“You’re on the ballot, it’s owed.” responded Denise as they passed by the stage. “Good luck out there tonight.”

“Thank you, Agent Christopher. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

Cahill walked off, leaving her on her own. Denise turned around and stared at the chairs and bleachers behind her. Banners with the pale gold Rittenhouse Party logo hung from the ceiling. A strange feeling washed over at her, one that made her feel sick looking at those banners. Denise couldn’t stand straight for a moment, nearly dropping to the ground. It was gone as quickly as it passed though. She wasn’t even sure why it had come over her…

* * *

Jiya flicked through the pages on her desks of memos and to-dos and committee reminders. It looked like another long day at the office, but that was to be expected for her. Then again, she was one of the three Rittenhouse Party representatives, although polls were favorable for more to be joining come the election. The bills she and the other two were planning would be going through easier. 

“Congresswoman Marri?”

She looked up as the door to her office cracked open. “Daniel?”

“Your 9:00 just arrived.”

Jiya smiled and straightened some of the papers on her desks. “Send her in.”

A minute passed before her appointment entered the office. It was enough time for her to take a glance out her office window. It wasn’t the best view, but it was still a beautiful one. It reminded her of what she was working for, what the party was working for.

_Wait, what was she-_

Her door opened and Jiya turned around to greet her guest with a smile, the strange thought of wrongness leaving her mind. “Hello, Ms. Whitmore.”

* * *

“Hey, what do you think of this?”

Rufus looked up from his storyboard and notes to see what Niles had done. He was working with the ad for Benjamin Cahill’s campaign. Numbers were good, but you could never be too cautious. Elections had been lost with complacency. 

He watched the clip that Niles had put together. It was good- really good. Niles was good at this stuff. But somehow…Rufus felt sick watching it. Which didn’t make sense, but watching Cahill smile at the end as he approved the message made him shiver.

“Rufus?”

Rufus shook his head, but the wrongness was still there. “It’s good, Niles. Exactly what they’re looking for.”

“Are you okay, man?”

“Yeah, I just need to go take a break.”

Without saying anything else, he walked out the room and towards the bathroom. Once he was inside, Rufus looked at the reflection of himself in the mirror. For a moment, he seemed to be wearing a hoodie and a Star Wars t-shirt instead of a button down with the sleeves rolled up. He shut his eyes, wondering why he would wear something like that in a workplace.

_What was happening?_

* * *

“She won’t talk. Trust me, I’ve tried.”

“Thanks, Dave,” Wyatt patted him on the shoulder. “How long has she been there?”

“Three days,” Dave shook his head. “And there’s not a peep coming out about the other cells. We know they’re out there.”

“Let me take a crack then.”

Twelve minutes later, Wyatt walked into the interrogation room with a plate of cookies. The woman behind the table glared at him as he entered. He set the plate down and pushed it across to her. Her glare settled on the cookies like they were something offensive.

“You poison these?” she snarled at him. 

“Only the cupcakes have poison,” he smirked. “You’ve been here three days, and I know the food sucks. Luckily, we keep a tube of Nestle in the break room freezer. Not everyone has hot fresh cookies.”

She continued to glare.

“You don’t have to tell me anything about your operations,” Wyatt told her. “Dave like to get right to the point. And being alone in this space…the loneliness really gets to you.”

Her silence persisted, so he tried a different tactic. “My name’s Wyatt, by the way. And you are.”

Finally, she spoke in a hoarse voice. 

“Amy.”

* * *

Garcia’s eyes darted from side to side. He scanned the crowd as they ran from the doors, hoping that he’d find her. After the day he’s had, all he wanted to do was see her and go home. The card from the Rittenhouse party member was burning in his pocket. 

_“We think you’d be an excellent addition to our team.”_

_“I’m not a politician.”_

_“But you were NSA. You know government work. Coming back into the fray, helping us roll out the new policy if we get elected…think of the lives that you could save.”_

Garcia shuddered again. It had felt wrong, even with the points that were being made. Policies made sense but he had a funny feeling about them. Perhaps it was just the time of year. The election was getting more and more fierce with each day, as were the attacks on the Rittenhouse Party. What if he got caught in one of the attacks? Who would be there for-

“Iris!” he called, catching sight of her long brown braid swinging as she ran towards him. “There you are.”

“Hi, Dad,” she grinned. “Ms. Patterson was explaining our homework so we would be able to understand it.”

“And your dad can’t help with math?” he teased as she opened the car door.

She made a face. “It’s fractions and story problems.”

He chuckled, but somehow he felt sad. It didn’t make sense.

* * *

“Comfortable, Connor?”

Connor Mason turned away from the window of his “prison”. A gilded cage was perhaps a better description for where Rittenhouse was keeping him. It was as fine as the one he used to own back in reality. The one difference here was that he wasn’t allowed a computer or phone. Rittenhouse had made sure that he wouldn’t be contacting the outside world.

“This technology wasn’t meant to be built,” he muttered. “And especially not for this purpose to test your takeover strategy.”

“It’s alternative use that’s effective for our interests,” Benjamin said. “We make mistakes here, then perfect. You can live years within a minute here, Connor. That’s plenty of time for us, and plenty of time for your ragtag misfits to be swayed to our side.”

Connor chuckled. “So you would think.”

Benjamin’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

“You don’t have us all.”

* * *

Lucy stared at the team laying on the hospital beds in a single row. All of them were there, and on the other side were people she didn’t recognize. Were they Rittenhouse, or innocent civilians to be brainwashed? Either way, she wasn’t ready to wake on up and find out. The strange devices attached to their heads reminded her of head massagers, which she was never using again after this. Could they be removed safely or not?

Making her way to end of the row, Lucy took the empty bed beside Garcia and sat down. Recollecting how Connor had told them about his prototype, she remembered what she was doing. Whatever fantasy nightmare awaited her, Lucy couldn’t lose sight of her goal. She had to find the way out and free the team.

“Here we go,” she murmured, lowering the device onto her head and closing her eyes.

The switch was instant. A sudden pressure bore down on her whole body. When she tried to scream, something caught in her mouth before she shut it. Her hands were above her somehow and could feel a breeze. She wriggled her arms out and realized she was covered in dirt. Quickly, Lucy scratched her hands at the surface above her head to dig away the dirt. By the time her head came free, she was able to see it was sunset, even though it had been pitch black when she arrived at the facility. 

It took a while longer to pull the rest of her body out of the ground. Her nails were coated with dirt and blood. She spat out the mud that had gotten in her mouth and rolled away from the ground. Glancing over to the hole, a gasp escaped her when she saw what was inside. A skeleton wearing the same clothes she had on now was nestled in the shallow grave.

Someone had killed her in this reality.

Lucy stared for a moment at her alternate self’s body, then pushed the dirt back over it. Once the bones were buried, she stood up and caught sight of a road. She made her way down to it and spotted the lights in the distance. It had been a long time since she had seen Washington DC at night in present day, but she could still recognize it.

“Okay,” she sighed, shaking the dirt out of her hair. “Time to find a ride.”

**Author's Note:**

> Might I write more? Maybe.... there's a lot happening in my life right now and this was meant as a break for myself. But my ask box on tumblr is always open (@agentmarymargaretskitz)
> 
> Please drop a kudo or a review- it's much appreciated and I'll be overjoyed!


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